Verizon Telematics Expands Offerings

Verizon Telematics has become the largest provider of built-in telematics and mobile applications for commercial vehicles and has moved closer to rebranding its product offerings for its customers, CEO Andrés Irlando told an audience gathered at the annual Latitude conference.

With its 2016 acquisitions of Telogis and Fleetmatics, the company now serves more than 100,000 customers in 44 countries. Irlando and other company executives provided an update on Oct. 24 and 25 during Latitude, a Telogis user conference that began in 2011.

Verizon Telematics is working to redefine traditional telematics, Irlando said. The company is now offering a wide range of products and services. Verizon Telematics has 15 partnerships with vehicle and equipment OEMs who install its hardware and software, including Ford, General Motors, and John Deere.

"We know the future is embedded," Irlando said.

The company has deepened its relationship with Ford Motor Co., announcing that customers who purchase a 2018 F-150 with Sync Connect can easily connect the vehicles to their existing accounts with Ford Telematics or Telogis. Ford will offer factory-installed telematics across its entire U.S. lineup by the 2019 model year.

Verizon Telematics is looking for ways to improve the flow of workers as well as vehicles. It introduced Telogis Workforce, a software product that helps users plan and dispatch work, navigate between jobs, monitor progress, and communicate with customers.

Irlando also told customers the newly combined company would improve and simplify the buying experience, including offering more bundled solutions, during his Oct. 24 remarks in Dana Point, Calif. Customers will see simplified contracts that provide greater flexibility.

Customers with heavy-duty vehicle fleets will especially see lower costs to equip their fleets with electronic logging devices (ELDs) to meet the Dec. 18 federal mandate, he said.

Verizon Telematics is also pursuing greater cooperation with fleet management companies and will seek to partner with those companies, he added.

Verizon has acquired four companies since 2012, when it entered the telematics market with its purchase of Hughes Telematics. In 2017, the company acquired Skyward, a drone operation services company.